A Chance Encounter With The Other Side
by AvengersIsLife
Summary: Jemma is staying by FItz's side in a hospital while Nick Fury goes in to help Coulson take down Garrett. Due to lack of room, another patient is placed in the room, bringing along a concerned partner. Jemma meets the strange duo, and soon learns their actually identity.


**Spoilers for the season finale of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. This story takes place in the time gap where Fury and Coulson go to attack Garrett, leaving FitzSimmons alone. Let's just assume that Fitz was taken to a civilian hospital for an hour while the HYDRA situation was handled, and that Simmons doesn't know what a certain pair of assassins looks like.**

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Jemma sat holding Fitz's motionless hand, but kept her eyes trained on her partner, who lay motionless on the cot. Fitz was hooked up to several different machines, blinking and beeping down at Jemma. She tuned them out though, for nothing mattered anymore except the man before her. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was slow, so only his faint heartbeat kept Jemma from coming apart at the seams. Jemma reached up and pushed back Fitz's curly brown hair, studying his pale face. She wished that he would open his eyes and wake up and be okay. She had to tell him that she loved him too.

They were currently at a civilian hospital, where Fury had deposited them so that he could go help Coulson. They were to only stay there an hour, and then Fury and the team was to come get them. It was just so that Fitz stayed in a somewhat stable condition, and could be around proper doctors in case something happened. Jemma was wary, because of the low status S.H.I.E.L.D. now had, but she kept her head low and out of the way of the nurses and doctors.

Activity in the hallway picked up, making Jemma curious. She opened the door just a crack to listen in to the excited nurses. Based on what she heard, a building not too far away had been blown to dust, leaving a lot of people severely injured. To her relief though, the explosion occurred far from where Coulson and the team was located.

Far down the hallway, Jemma listened in to two doctors in a heated discussion over available space. Apparently, the rooms were filling up fast, but people were still coming in.

"We need to double up rooms. Starting with those in stable condition."

"Yes, alright, but stay out of room 605. I don't wish to disobey that really scary guy's orders."

"The one with the black glasses that was dressed like he lived under a bridge? I know what you mean. Did you see the scarring around his left eye?"

"Yeah! He wouldn't let me examine it. I wonder what caused it."

Ambulance sirens could be heard coming closer, and the two doctors snapped out of their conversation.

"Okay, you know what, screw that man's orders. We need room. Prepare the other bed in room 605. This guy is alright, maybe a broken rib, a nice gash on his head, still unconscious though, but I think that he's good to put in with that guy in 605. Hopefully Scar Man will agree. Okay people! Let's move!"

Jemma watched as the doctors parted, and made room for a tall man laying on a gurney, a large, bleeding gash in his head. She realized that they were headed for her room, so she leaned away from the door and took up Fitz's hand again, acting as though she had no idea what was going on. They wheeled the man in, his blondish brown hair caked with blood. His eyes were partially open, indicating that he was unconscious. The doctors cleaned him up a little bit, but another wave of broken people were being brought in.

They left the room, leaving Jemma alone with Fitz, and the other man. Jemma moved closer to look at her new neighbor, the great feeling of sorrow growing in her chest. She felt bad for the man, for when he woke up, he would be in some serious pain.

Behind her, she heard FItz cough, so she turned back to him. The doctors said that there was still water in his lungs, and that pneumonia was likely.

Once she returned to Fitz's side, loud voices seeped into the room from the chaotic hallway. It sounded like a woman was demanding the location of someone from the building. Jemma assumed that she was one of the loved ones of someone in the building. It was definitely a woman's voice, and when Jemma shifted herself so that she could look through the glass, she saw a small, red-haired woman who had her back to Jemma, yelling at a nurse.

Jemma rolled her eyes. The nurses were doing everything they could, so yelling at them wouldn't help anything. Jemma watched as the terrified nurse consulted the list of incoming patients, the clipboard shaking in her hands. The red-headed woman just stood there, her posture tense and erect. Jemma guessed that she was trying to keep herself together.

Not wanting to watch the scene anymore, Jemma turned her back on the hallway, focusing her eyes once again on Fitz. Because she had turned her back, Jemma didn't see the nurse move towards her room, the red-haired woman hovering close behind. The door opened, and Jemma whipped around, her jaw dropping as she realized the woman was coming inside.

"Is that him?" the nurse asked in a timid voice.

Jemma could now see the red-head's face. She had beautiful sea green eyes, that looked as if they would glow in the dark, pale, full lips, that were currently turned down, and high arching cheekbones. Jemma expected her face to be contorted in anger, but it was relativley devoid of emotion, other than her prominent frown.

The red-head nodded, and rushed straight to the man's side. The nurse cast a nervous look at Jemma, then shuffled out of the room. She shut the door behind her as she left, closing Jemma in with the woman.

Jemma avoided starring over at her, wishing to give her her privacy, but glanced up after a few minutes. The red-head was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing Jemma, but her eyes were focused on the man in front of her. Her posture was still stiff and resolute, but she had her hand laying on top of the man's.

Jemma thought that the woman hadn't noticed her watching, so she jumped when she spoke.

"You just can't get used to seeing them like this, you know?" The red-head flicked her eyes up to meet Jemma's. "Natas- uh, Natalie."

"Jemma."

Natalie nodded. "What happened with him?" She jerked her head down towards Fitz.

Jemma looked down at her still motionless partner, and the events of the past day flashed in her mind.

"He uh, nearly drowned. Yes. Drowned. Our, um, boat. Crashed, and he broke his arm in the same two places that he did in second grade."

Natalie narrowed her eyes at Jemma, while Jemma prayed inwardly that Natalie couldn't tell that she was lying. Trip had always told her that she was a bad liar, but if Natalie noticed, she didn't say anything.

Either way, Jemma quickly changed the subject. "What happened to him?" She gestured to the brown haired man.

"Building collapsed with him inside. He had a job on the inside, and we were supposed to meet a few blocks from there, but when he didn't show, I found out what happened..." Natalie rolled off into silence.

Jemma saw the pain in her eyes even though she was trying so hard to hide it.

"Are you two close?" Jemma asked, slightly wary that she was getting too personal.

Natalie just shrugged. "I guess you could say that we are. I haven't seen him in a few months, but after Washington, well, I needed someone that I could trust completely."

"What happened in Washington?"

"Our organization basically collapsed. If that's what you want to call it."

Jemma's brain buzzed. Was she talking about SHIELD and HYDRA?

Natalie, however didn't seem to notice Jemma's puzzlement. "What about you and fish boy? Are you two close?"

Jemma shook her head, trying to snap out of it. "What? Oh, Fitz? I honestly don't know what is going on between us. I though that we were just friends but..."

"But now you think there's something more," Natalie finished for her.

Jemma nodded shyly.

Natalie smiled. "You want my advice? Don't wait. It's not worth it. Time is a funny thing, and the more you waste it, the less forgiving it is. If he loves you, because it's pretty obvious that you love him, then just go with it. Trust me."

Jemma grinned weakly. "You know, I think I will. Is it really that obvious though?"

Natalie laughed and nodded. Jemma just shook her head. The room fell into a comfortable silence, though Jemma wanted to know more about this woman. She was just about to ask more about what happened in Washington, when the brown haired man started to stir. Natalie leaned forward, a smile creeping onto her mouth.

"Clint? Can you hear me? Clint it's Natalie. Can you hear me? Wake up, we need to move."

Jemma was puzzled as Natalie began to shake the man, dragging him from unconsciousness. She was about to tell Natalie that he would be in a lot of pain, when the man's eyes opened. They were a bright green, but not quite the same shade as Natalie's. His expression showed little emotion, similar to Natalie's, except for the crease lines in his forehead, indicating pain.

"Tasha?" he mumbled, focusing his eyes on the red haired woman before him. Natalie shot a nervous look at Jemma.

"I'm here Clint. It's me, Natalie. Remember? You're in a hospital. The building collapsed, and you were knocked out."

Clint woke up even more, and Jemma watched as he scanned the room with precision, not leaving a detail from his sight. It made her uneasy.

Natalie leaned in and hugged him, and he smiled.

"Nat, did you, uh, find my bow?" he asked Natalie. She widened her eyes. Clint cast a look towards Jemma, who was staring intently at the ceiling pretending that she didn't hear anything.

Natalie's eyes flashed, but she nodded. "It's in the jeep. I got it from the debris. It's safe."

Clint breathed out quickly, then moved to rub back his hair, and hit the gash on his head.

Jemma expected him to cry out, or at least wince, but Clint hardly even flinched. He merely contorted his face a little more, then drew back his bloody hand.

"Nice. No stitches yet?"

Natalie grinned, and was about to reply to him, but her phone buzzed, and she pulled it open. Her face drew back into a frown as she scanned the screen. She locked it up, then turned back to Clint.

"That was Hill. She and Pepper need us back at the tower. I'll take care of your stitches on the way there, alright?"

Jemma turned from Natalie, to Clint. She didn't understand how Clint was so tolerant of pain, nor why they were in such a hurry to leave now. She also wanted to know who Pepper and Hill were, but she didn't want to pry.

Just as Clint was slipping out of the bed, and Natalie was gathering his things, Jemma heard the door open and she whipped around to it, her eyes growing as Director Fury walked in. He took one glance around, and she didn't understand why his face was pulled into a glare, until he stepped in and walked straight up to Clint and Natalie, who were wearing identical evil grins.

"And just what the _hell _do you think you're doing here?" he growled at them.

Jemma's suspicions were confirmed. They were agents of SHIELD.

"Hey now, Nick," began Clint, his smile twisting. "I was studying some case files, hacking my way in as usual, when I found that Coulson could use some help. Nat and I were just here in case things went south."

"First of all, _Barton, _you two weren't supposed to know about Phil's revival in the first place, but, thanks to your infernal know-it-all personality, you two figured it out. Second of all, Phil and I have this situation handled. Garrett is dead, and SHIELD has been preserved. Your services are no longer needed."

"Good," cut in Natalie. "We're needed back in New York. Apparently Bruce and Tony blew a hole in the side of the tower, and we're on damage control."

Jemma just sat there, open mouthed, watching the three. A suspicious idea was creeping into her mind, but they couldn't be who she thought they were...

"Another hole? That's like the third since they started living together!" exclaimed Clint.

"Before you leave, did I hear that you took down a building, Clint?"

Clint rolled his eyes. "It was a diversion, sir. Nothing other than that."

"You injured at least a hundred people!"

"Yeah, but they're with Cybertek!"

"Barton-"

"Fury, just let it go. It's alright now."

Fury glared at the pair of them, then turned to Jemma. "Get Fitz prepped. We'll be out in ten."

Jemma glanced at Clint and Natalie, but nodded. "Where are we going?"

"Secret base. Coulson will let you know more later."

He turned back to Clint and Natalie. "Natasha, it's your job to keep New York under control. Until Rogers gets back, help Pepper keep Stark in control, alright? Barton, no more dropping buildings for fun. Now get out of my sight. I was enjoying my vacation from you, so please don't end it now."

Jemma's jaw dropped as she finally realized who they were. Clint and Natalie were actually Clint and Natasha, from the Avengers.

"Whatever sir. We'll do our best. Come on Tasha. We need to get there before Pepper murders Tony." Clint stood up on the bed, and pulled off the lid for the vent. He then hoisted himself inside, and stretched out a hand to Natasha.

Natasha, however, walked straight over to Jemma, and held out her hand.

"Good luck, Agent Simmons."

Natasha laughed as Jemma's eyes grew huge, scared to shake her hand.

"You know my name?"

"Clint and I did our research. We know who your whole team is. Don't worry about Fitz; I think he'll will be just fine, and I hope that you take my advice. Goodbye Jemma.

Natasha strode across the room, then climbed up into the vent with Clint, closing it up behind her.

Jemma turned to Fury, who was watching her, smiling.

"Yeah, I know. They're a handful. They weren't supposed to know about Phil's revival, but yet they found out anyway. Those two have a knack for breaking the rules. Phil, however does _not _know that they know, and I'd like to keep it that way. So no telling the rest of your team, alright? Come on. We need to get out of here."

Jemma smiled, realizing what Skye's reaction would be if she knew that Jemma had met two of the Avengers. But according to Fury, that news was to be kept classified.


End file.
